Mine-car wheel



F. E. JOHNSON.

MINE CAR WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 10, 1919.

Patented July 5, 1921.

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"UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK E. JOHNSON, 0F SALT LAKE NESE STEEL COMPANY,

MANGA- MINE-CAB WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 10, 1919. Serial No. 336,956.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK E. JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Salt Lake City, in the county of Salt Lake and State ofUtah, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mine-Careels, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to mine cars, and more particularly to a method ofattaching Wheels to said cars.

The general object of my invention is to improve the construction ofmine car wheels and related parts, whereby the wheels may be looselymounted on the axles and means provided for removably securing thewheels to the car in such manner as to permit the same to be readilyapplied and removed.

Another object is to improve mine car wheel construction for successfulcommercial use.

This invention relates more particularly to that type of mine car wheelsthat are made of alloyed metal, preferably of manganese steel, and whichwheels are provided with bushings forced or driven into the hubs forfree rotation on the axles, the bushings having a special formation forcooperation with a ring or the like whereby the wheels may be readilyapplied to or removed from the cars.

The above and other objects may be readily observed from. the drawings,in which Figure 1 is an elevational view of a mine car axle housin andwheels including the preferred embmTiment of my invention;

ig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through line 22of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical 33 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a tion view taken on line porof awheel and axle construction show- 111%8. modification of my invention.

he form in which 1 have chosen to illus trate my invention includes ahousing 5 having upstanding members 6, through which bolts or rivetspass for fastenin the housing to the mine car (not shown). referably thehousing is made as a single casting with the interior portion formedwith an intermediate space, but slightly larger than the axle 7 and atthe ends enlarged for receiving roller bearings 8. The ends of thehousings 5 are formed with external flanges 9. The wheels 10 may be ofany Patented July 5, 1921.

material, but preferably are made of mangrinding, therefore it may bereadily under-,7

stood that it is next to impossible to smooth the interior of the hubs11 of manganese wheels so as to have a true bearing with the axles,hence the bushings 12 are used. The wheel bearings are made by insertingthe bushing members 12 in the hubs of the wheels 10. Preferably thebushings are closed at the outer ends, as at 13, while the rear ends ofthe bushings are open and are formed with external flanges 14 preferablyslightly smaller in diameter than the flanges 9 on the housings 5.

Referring to Fig. 2, it will be observed that the axle 7 is insertedthrough either end of the housing 5 and is maintained in position by theroller bearings 8; The rollers 8 are retained between shoulders '15formed in the housings and at the outer ends by rings 16 which lie inrecesses 17 formed in the outer ends of the housings. A lubricant isintroduced into the housing through an opening closed by a cap 19,arranged preferably at some convenient place in the housing. In thedrawings this is shown as arranged at mid-position of the housing sothat lubricants may be supplied equally to each part of the housing.When the axle is in place in the bearings and the end plates or rings 16positioned, the wheels 10 are then mounted on the ends of the axles, theparts being arranged so that the inner ends of the bushings 12 bearagainst the retaining rings 16 for the purpose of maintaining therollers 8 in position and also for the purpose of keeping the lubricantwithin the housings.

F or securing the wheels to the housings I provide a split ringcomprising top an bottom portions 20 and 21 suitably fastened togetherby bolts 22 passing throu erly disposed apertured ears 23.

are formed with internal flanges 24 and 25, the flanges 24 being adaptedto extend into a groove formed between the shoulders 14 on the bushingsand the rear portions 26 of the wheel hubs 11, while the flanges 25 hookh prop he rings over the flanges 9 on the housings 5. Preferably theflanges 24'and 25 have internal grooves 27 in which suitable packingrings may be inserted. The internal flanges 24: and 25 are so arrangedas to shape and size as to permit a slight play of the wheels on theaxles, but no play is permitted between the rings and flanges 9 on thehousings. When the topand bottom portions 20 and 21 of the rings aresecured together by the bolts 22 the whole serves as a means for notonly removably securing the wheels to the axles of the housings, butalso as a leak-tight joint preventing the escape of any lubricant or oilof any sort from the interior of the housing. This feature is important,as oil of course is readily inflammable, and if scattered about in minerunways may readily become ignited resulting in serious consequences.

In F ig. 4 I have shown a modification wherein no bushing is employed inthe wheel, but instead the inner end of the hub of the wheel is providedwith an annular flange 29 of substantially the same diameter as theflange on the housing 5. For cooperating with the flanges 9 and 29 toretain the wheel 30 in proper position onthe axle 7, I provide atwo-part retaining ring similar to the one shown in Figs. 1--and 2 butwith the diameters of the inner flanges 31 and 32 the same. In thisconstruction I provide the face of theflanges 31 and 32 with oilretaining packing rings as shown in Fig. 2.

It will readily be observed that the wheels made in accordance with myinvention and secured to mine cars by the split rings of my inventionmay readily be applied to or removed from the cars. It is necessary onlyto jack up an end of the car for the removal of the wheel, which isaccomplished by rem0ving the bolts 22 and taking off the retainin ring,whereupon anew wheel may be applie or the old one replaced after it hasbeen adjusted. It is possible in my invention to reduce the outlay spenton damage to mine car wheels, and it is possible to apply one or as manyas desired with less loss of time than with the use of any otherconstruction.

I claim:

1. In a mine car, in combination, a loose axle, a housing for supportingsaid axle on the car, bearings for said axle supported within saidhousing, wheels adapted for re movable association with said axle, awheel being formed with the hub portion having a flange on the endadjacent said housing, said housing having flanges at the ends thereofwhich flanges are of greater diameter than the hub flanges,-means forremovably retaining said wheels on said axle including a ring composedof several segments, said ring having a groove formed in its interiorfor receiving the flange on the housing to prevent bodily movementlongitudinally thereof and rovided with an annular shoulder for hookingengagement with the flange on the wheel.

2. In a mine car, in comblnation, a loose axle, a housing for supportingsaid axle on the car, bearings for said axle sup orted within saidhousing, wheels adapted or removable association with said axle, a wheelbeing formed with the hub portion having a flange on the end adjacentsaid housing, said housing having flanges at the ends thereof whichflanges are of greater diameter than the hub flanges, means forremovably retaining said wheelson said axle including a ring composed ofseveral segments, said ring having a groove formed in its interior forreceiving the flange on the housin vent bodily movement longitudinall ofand provided with an annular shoulder for hookingengagement with theflange on the wheel, and said ring provided with an to preinternalrecess for receiving a packing element to prevent the escape of oilthrough said ring.

Signed at Salt Lake City, Utah, this 18th day of Oct, 1919.

FRANK E. JOHNSON.

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